Black Caviar “More Relaxed” Says Moody

Black Caviar is settling in to preparations for her upcoming spring campaign

Black Caviar is said to be settling in to preparations for her upcoming spring campaign after having a short spell following her winter successes in Brisbane.

Trainer Peter Moody is full of excitement over the campaign that lies ahead.

“It’s always an exciting time with a horse like her, you’d be lying if you said it didn’t put spring in your step,” Moody said.

“I’m pleased to say she’s enjoyed her winter spell in Queensland and she’s been back with us here for about three weeks.

“(Her) action’s good (and) attitude’s great.”

Moody believes the relaxed persona that we all recognise so well has developed even further during her freshen up.

“I’d go as far to say she’s more relaxed,” he said.

“Each preparation she’s matured, not only physically but mentally.

“She seems very sound so I’m very happy with her, so much so that we’re going to take the foot off the peddle a bit, we’re probably a little bit more forward that we anticipated at this point.”

Black Caviar will now go back up to the Willow Wood Equicentre run by Peter Clark in Murchison in northern Victoria.

“The next couple of days I’ll probably send her back up to Peter Clark’s at Murchison… where she spent a lot of time in the past for a few weeks on the water walker and that will just maintain her fitness levels and we’ll just start to crank her up for early November,” Moody said.

The trainer insists that Black Caviar has returned from her spell in prime condition.

“With these horses the hardest part each time you bring them up is getting them fit,” he said.

“We purposely tried not to let her get too big and thankfully we succeeded in that and she looks super.

“If we wanted we could probably have her at the races in a few weeks.”

While Black Caviar is being targeted at a first-up run in the 1,000 metre Schillaci Stakes in October, Moody is open to making changes to her program.

“What we’ve suggested is the logical plan would be to follow the path of last spring.”

“But we haven’t ruled out other alternatives also.

“Her trackwork leading into the end of September-October will tell me when and where I think I want to kick her off.

“I’ve always suggested and I’ve always believed she’s going to be better at 1,400 and a mile, whether I do maybe look at that possibility in the spring.

“If her track work and her trials suggest to me that she may be a bit vulnerable at the thousand (metres) I won’t hesitate to recommend that we maybe look at other options, maybe we do have to step her up in distance.

“There is one mile weight-for-age for mares on Derby Day.”

While Moody feels Black Caviar would be best suited to a longer distance, he concedes that she is at her best up the Flemington straight.

“You wouldn’t rule out the Patinack (Farm Classic) in any way shape or form because she just seems to thrive on that straight,” Moody said.

“There’s quite a few variables but the main thing is that she’s fit, well and healthy and we’ve got a lot of options ahead of us and hopefully we can choose the right path.”

Black Caviar will head to the spring carnival with 13 unbeaten wins against her name and almost $3.4 million in prize money.

Author: Sarah Fortnum

Sarah is an avid racing fan who has attended some of the world’s most famous racing events and enjoyed every minute of it. A horse owner herself, she has been working for the horseracing.com.au team for the past three years.